Any writers ever write a story, only to abandon it once you start editing/revising? I'm in a quandry right now about a story that I wrote intending to use it on Lush. For whatever reason, it felt great as I wrote it but now as I re-read and try to edit and revise, it's just not gelling anymore. Debating whether to start over just re-using the few bits that work for me, leave it for a few days or even weeks and then read it again to see if it just needs time, or just abandon it and write off the work I did already. I've already skipped over it and done another story just to keep my juices flowing (creative juices, that is) but that wasn't enough apparently.

I seem to do that quite often, I love writing, but when it comes to the editing, I just don't feel it anymore.

Joined: 10/19/2009Posts: 5,910Location: Right here on Lush Stories..., United States

overmykneenow wrote:

I can't say I've abandoned a story but I have abandoned plenty of ideas for stories.

Now that I can most definitely relate to...but, once I decide to write something up I usually sort of make it work, somehow or other...and you never really know for sure what really works or not until you put it out there...

I've had a couple of things that I had doubts about that ended up being sort of popular...and vice versa...so, you never really know...

Joined: 7/3/2009Posts: 3,318Location: Lost in the desert west of Apache Junction, USA

Lush is a great place for writers to risk making mistakes. Instead of abandoning the story, give it your best shot then submit it and ask a few writing buddies to check it out with attention to possible weaknesses that concern you.

Joined: 8/1/2012Posts: 4,214Location: The Dark Corners of My Mind..., United States

I have many stories I've stared and stalled on. Some I come back to months or years later to figure out the problem... some I just leave alone.

Some I have finished... let set... only to realize I need to fix. Some my editor has helped me on.

I will say this... if you can find yourself a good editor... they are worth their weight in gold. They can help point out silly errors and make suggestions to help unblock you. I know mine has done this for me & so much more.

I'm a big fan of quality work both with what I read and what I write. I'd rather scrap 10 weak stories for one really good one than write 10 really weak & crappy ones. Sometimes you must write out the crap to get it out of your system... and who knows... from failure we find success.

I guess I have had to abandon certain ideas for purposes of propriety, even morality, I mean, it is good that this site has standards that are high in a lot of respects. They have kept baser aspects of freewriting in check: I started experimenting with sex young, far to young some would say and for me to finesse these memories into a story can actually be very unsavory. Then, the intensity can sometimes be lost if I have to "modify" these stories to protect the innocent, so to speak. ORThen I have to abandon stories which are in some ways violent or have what is considered a violation/exploitation by intoxication of some sort, that gets frustrating because well, if I were a better writer I suppose that proverbial paper bag would be easier to write myself out of...ORI have to abandon certain stories because, well, they arent stories truly, but wierd writing "gestures" that are scrap tappings of half poetry, or whatever, I don't know, I just have to keep trying I guess...Oh, and the folks here are sticklers about grammar, structure and punctuation which can be stultifying inasmuch as that which I have submitted at times is meant to be more visceral, but in my mind not in need of traditional "structure"...ehh...i just keep trying I guess, right now, having pulled most drafts from my page, to work up new ideas.hmmmmmmm

Oh, and the folks here are sticklers about grammar, structure and punctuation which can be stultifying inasmuch as that which I have submitted at times is meant to be more visceral, but in my mind not in need of traditional "structure"...

yes, we are. here's the thing... well known authors who write 'visceral stories that aren't traditional in structure' usually know a LOT more about the ins and out of grammar than most of us and follow the rules, or break them with consistancy, in the same way. it's not random. as a mod, I see, on a daily basis, what is submitted here - some very wonderful stories can be sidetracked by poor grammar - when I am pulled out of the story because of the way it is written, the story becomes frustrating. The goal here is to write accessible stories that can be enjoyed by all.

yes, we hope for a certain amount of artistry, but honestly, stories that are experimental to the degree you seem to be indicating won't find an audience here. this is an erotica site, and that is what we prefer to publish. Yes, I find passages of Joyce's Ullysess incredibly erotic (Molly Blooms's closing speech) but I would never suggest the novel should be published on Lush.

Know your audience. For an example, btw, of how to write in a somewhat non traditional manner and still adhere to proper grammar and spin an erotic tale, my i suggest the works of this woman: http://www.lushstories.com/celiaisaliena

I have a few stories that I've started and never gotten around to finishing, I guess that is abandoning. I'm not as good a writer as many here, but I do look back at them from time to time and plan on finishing :)

I have never abandoned a story. I just quit writing after having my third one rejected for errors that I have seen made on many stories since. So I just figured I would not waste my time. So many stories are very good here, and many have typos, gender changes and first person errors, but I just read through them. A shame I wasn't allowed that option by those in charge of viewing and approving the stories.

I have never abandoned a story. I just quit writing after having my third one rejected for errors that I have seen made on many stories since. So I just figured I would not waste my time. So many stories are very good here, and many have typos, gender changes and first person errors, but I just read through them. A shame I wasn't allowed that option by those in charge of viewing and approving the stories.

So, you think it's a shame that the story verifiers don't allow you to publish a mediocre/crappy story with "many typos, gender changes and first person errors?" You honestly want your name attached to lousy writing just for the sake of getting something published? Really???

I think you're looking at this the wrong way. If you're interested in being a well-received writer on this site, then you need to take it as a learning experience. My first story was rejected (dialogue formatting);however, the story verifier gave me very helpful suggestions on how to fix/improve it. Guess what? After I used those suggestions, miraculously, my story was approved, and I had no problems getting the next one published. Very few of us on this site are published authors, so most of our initial stories can use some help/polishing.

Yes, we've all seen some stories that might have poor grammar and/or spelling, and they almost always have low scores and few comments to show for it. There are many different volunteer verifiers here, and while they seem to try to remain as consistent as possible, it will vary what gets approved and what doesn't. What you need to "not waste your time" on is feeling sorry for yourself and attempt to improve your writing.

To the OP: I'm not a big writer, so I really haven't abandoned anything, but I did have some story ideas that died in my head and never made it on to paper.

I rarely abandon stories. Sometimes I start writing a story and I leave it unfinished for weeks sometimes even months, but it gets done eventually. Usually I can tell during the writing process if the story isn't coming out to the standard I want, or if it just doesn't click. If that's the case, then I rewrite, rewrite and rewrite until it's the way I want it. It can be time consuming at times, but it's worth it. I find it helps to have a strong plot or idea fleshed out before doing the actual writing.

I have next to nothing published on LUSH but I keep everything I write, could be anything from an almost complete piece to a word or two written on the corner of a napkin. On rare occasion I go thru the debris and toss the complete crap or type various scraps into a file for later inspiration. I abandon when I feel like I'm forcing the writing, sometime a subsequent revisit days, weeks, months later will sort it out sometimes not. One of my pitfalls as a writer is I just let it flow and let the story go where it wants to..which often leads to five disjointed quarters of 2 or 3 stories. Then by following one path I may end up in a very different place than where I started and end up chopping huge swaths out to come up with something readable.

The most recent story I've posted on Lush (Hard Candy) was actually a story that I had started back in late July that I abandoned for a while to work on other things. I hadn't gotten too far into it, but I know the kind of story I wanted it to be, and being fresh off the encounter that inspired it, I think maybe I needed a little while to let my mind settle around it a bit. Sometimes you just need to be in the right headspace. It's definitely proof that you can go back to a concept or idea many months later and really rock it and turn it into something you're proud of.

In other words, don't throw out those sketches and half-started ideas! You might come back to them when you least expect it. :)

I've done that a lot. Hell, I still have stories from up to seven years ago I've started and didn't finish yet. I'm working on a love story I began four years ago and can actually write it without me seeing red and put it down again. I just found an outline of another story I sketched out six years ago and finally figured out how I want to drive the plot and the characters. I have to finish both of the stories and edit them before I share them with everyone.The Roommates Trilogy:Roommates with BenefitsRoommates with Benefits: Snowed InRoommates with Benefits: The Working Vacation is now available for your reading pleasure

yes, we are. here's the thing... well known authors who write 'visceral stories that aren't traditional in structure' usually know a LOT more about the ins and out of grammar than most of us and follow the rules, or break them with consistancy, in the same way. it's not random. as a mod, I see, on a daily basis, what is submitted here - some very wonderful stories can be sidetracked by poor grammar - when I am pulled out of the story because of the way it is written, the story becomes frustrating. The goal here is to write accessible stories that can be enjoyed by all.

yes, we hope for a certain amount of artistry, but honestly, stories that are experimental to the degree you seem to be indicating won't find an audience here. this is an erotica site, and that is what we prefer to publish. Yes, I find passages of Joyce's Ullysess incredibly erotic (Molly Blooms's closing speech) but I would never suggest the novel should be published on Lush.

Know your audience. For an example, btw, of how to write in a somewhat non traditional manner and still adhere to proper grammar and spin an erotic tale, my i suggest the works of this woman:

Hello and I thank you for the frank but kind response. I don't know, I guess I just have this idea that something somehow "literary" (or "experimental) could be pulled off by me with a story, I guess it's a personal sort of challenge for me to try to create erotic tension with "other" writing methods, however ineptly I may attempt to do so. Hey, I would rather be rejected by you kind folks than anyone else right now!!! take care all....

If and when this happens to me, I always try to live the story I`ve written and by trying to act a part you might find what do`se not fit in a "Smooth manner",I often find to produce a Smooth Passage for your Story may help point out the problem that is Stuffing you up and Inserting the Pothole in your Writing.

Well, Just a suggestion to try and help you overcome your problem.Best of Luck!

Oh, I abandon stories all the time but usually while I'm halfway through writing them. A full story can always be salvaged and turned into something else and besides, it's already had so much work put into it, it's a shame to just discard it.

Any writers ever write a story, only to abandon it once you start editing/revising? I'm in a quandry right now about a story that I wrote intending to use it on Lush. For whatever reason, it felt great as I wrote it but now as I re-read and try to edit and revise, it's just not gelling anymore. Debating whether to start over just re-using the few bits that work for me, leave it for a few days or even weeks and then read it again to see if it just needs time, or just abandon it and write off the work I did already. I've already skipped over it and done another story just to keep my juices flowing (creative juices, that is) but that wasn't enough apparently.

Why don't you ask a lush friend to preview the story and ask them if they think it is worth spending more time on.

I don't like to think that I ever abandoned a story. But even in my most generous attitude ("Oh, I didn't abandon this one, I'm just not ready to write it yet. I'll try to write it later."), I have to admit that I've abandoned a number of stories. It's just the way of things.

That being said, I have made an effort to keep everything that I've written. (Hard drive crashes have claimed some of my work, but I have made an effort to reclaim it. It's not exactly the same, but that may be for the best.)

What I would do is keep it in case you ever get in the mood to write that story again. Your muse may come back to you a month from now, or a year, or it may never come for that story. But the important thing is that you still have it in case you get a new perspective on it.

Any writers ever write a story, only to abandon it once you start editing/revising? I'm in a quandry right now about a story that I wrote intending to use it on Lush. For whatever reason, it felt great as I wrote it but now as I re-read and try to edit and revise, it's just not gelling anymore. Debating whether to start over just re-using the few bits that work for me, leave it for a few days or even weeks and then read it again to see if it just needs time, or just abandon it and write off the work I did already. I've already skipped over it and done another story just to keep my juices flowing (creative juices, that is) but that wasn't enough apparently.

I do - all the time. They're rolled into a file called 'The Burn Pit' - and most never resurface. Some come together to form one larger more fucked up story. The population of The Burn Pit is only growing - and it's full of the most messed up plot concepts, scene attempts, maltreatment of innocence, drug abuse and perversion my mind can conjure up.

...and then some.

But yeah - I quit a piece all the time. Lately I've quit quite a few because my inspiration to write it sort of bailed on me . . . I started writing one based on a person I sort of met - who I later then found to be totally off his rocker and thus the story went when my interest in him bottomed out.

I've only ever abandoned one story, I took it right up a proverbial cul-de-sac with no idea where to take it. That was several years ago.

In terms of starting another chapter of the current story I'm writing, it's more a case of ordering and structuring the chapter. I won't start unless I can get the structure right. Even then, I'd probably embellish that once I've started.

My problem is more getting time to place fingers to keyboard and crack on. Once I've started though, I'm very fortunate to be a fast-ish typer.

50+ stories to my name now and still enjoying writing them as if it was my first......

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